Lisa DiFebo-Osias, chef and owner of DiFebo's restaurant in Bethany Beach, will make her debut on the Food Network's new culinary competition series, 'Kitchen Casino' on April 28. / File photo

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BETHANY BEACH — Lisa DiFebo-Osias does not shy away from spice and flavor in her Italian dishes, but the main ingredient to her journey to the Food Network was fate and a pinch of luck.

DiFebo-Osias, chef and owner of DiFebo’s restaurant in Bethany Beach, will make her debut on the Food Network’s new culinary competition series, “Kitchen Casino” on April 28. The reality show, which premieres April 7, follows a format similar to the network’s hit, “Chopped,” with a gambling twist. In each episode, host Bill Rancic will lead four contestants through a series of culinary challenges of slots, roulette and poker, as they vie for the $30,000 jackpot.

DiFebo-Osias couldn’t contain her excitement when she joined the series, but her appearance on “Kitchen Casino” came only after the network had said no for previous shows. During the past four years, she’s made the trek from Delaware to the network studios in New York, trying her hand — and knife — at other competition series.

Each tryout consisted of a 30-minute cooking frenzy where producers peppered her with questions as she whipped up her creations. But stress never got the best of DiFebo-Osias, who remained calm and collected throughout her auditions.

“They want to see that you have culinary dexterity,” she said. “I have no problem talking with people about food.”

Though she didn’t make the cut in her prior attempts, she hopes her three children will take away a life lesson from her journey.

“My kids have watched me fail and they’ve seen me not give up,” she said. “Sometimes they’re going to get picked and sometimes they’re not. I hope at the end of the day they say, ‘my mom wanted something.’ ”

Where some chefs might have become hotheaded after so many denials, DiFebo-Osias said she remained calm while she waited for the right moment. Her time came when she got the call to participate in “Kitchen Casino.”

After driving to New York through a snowstorm this January, she arrived well before her 6 a.m. call and prepped for a more than 12-hour day of filming.

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Even as she made her jump into the network’s frying pan, ­DiFebo-Osias brought her upbeat nature to the game. During one tense competition scene, a director had to tell her to look more serious because she was smiling too much.

“I was just so honored to be asked to be there,” she said. “I met some great casting directors and producers — they were just dynamic people.”

Much like “Chopped,” the contestants’ ingredients are a mystery. In the first round, chefs take a spin on the Kitchen Casino Slot Machine, which reveals their cuisine, ingredients and theme, according to the Food Network. In round two, the remaining three contestants prepare their dishes in 40 minutes, but not without the Casino throwing a curveball. During that round, the chefs’ stations spin like a roulette wheel and they must continue cooking with a different dish. In the third and final round, the last two chefs play a game of culinary poker, where the house deals another mystery ingredient.

“You definitely had to be on your toes,” DiFebo-Osias said. “You were constantly adding new things.”

Still, she did get jittery before plating her dishes for the judges. With a rotating panel for each show and a variety of palettes, pleasing everyone was often the luck of the draw, she said. But while the judges made no bones about critiquing the dishes, they remained supportive of the contestants, she said.

“As you’re cooking you can hear them talking,” she said. “I think that made me more conscious of what I was doing because I didn’t want to make a mistake.”

DiFebo-Osias is settling back into DiFebo’s on Route 26, where she has been pleasing customers for 25 years. She’ll return to New York to record audio for the show, but she said this may not be the last time you see her on TV.

“I’m hoping there’s more,” she said. “I want to go back for another competition show. I loved it.”